Joy Sticks and Dragons (My First Gaming Memory)

Born February 7th 1993,  I missed the very beginnings of the "Gaming Industry". The downfall of Atari, the raise and triumph of Nintendo, and the start of Sony as a industry name in gaming space. Video games haven't been around all that long in the grand scheme of things but with every gamer lies lasting memories whether it be the failures of the Atari, or the giant leap that was the PS2, Xbox era.

I loved video games as a child for one main reason, it evoked imagination. Growing up in a house with a pencil artist for a father and a mother who was a poet my imagination ran rampant til one day.

Over at my grandmothers house, my uncle was watching me. He could tell by my loud out burst of sighs that I was bored out of my mind. He asked me if i wanted to play this thing called a "Playstation". At the time I had never heard of a "Playstation" but that word "Play" stuck with me. I went to the room and watched as my Uncle started up the machine and for the first time I heard the famous PSX start up sound. I had no idea what was going on, as I watched a little purple dragon appeared on the screen. Little did I know I was truly about to succumb to the power of Playstation and gaming itself.

I had a knack for drawing as a child and often found myself in my room looking down at a piece of paper penciling out characters in my head but one thing i always found that they lacked was life, something this mascot clearly had. I asked my Uncle, "Hey how'd he get in the TV?". He went on to tell me what he knew about video game development and how "Spyro the Dragon" was originally nothing more then a drawing on a piece of paper. I couldn't believe it, "I draw, I could do this!"  I told myself. I can bring my characters to life, and this is a platform that allows me to do it. From that point on video games were more to me then just a simple form of entertainment. They are a form of art, something very near and dear to me due to my upbringing.

Today video games are a daily part of my life, whether it be checking up on the latest gaming news on IGN, watching the best videos on GameTrailers, or diving deep into my own researching and digging for new titles, developer interviews, among other news. As a child i loved video games, they taught me that anything really is possible. Even bringing the craziest version of reality you can think of to fruition. Now at the age of twenty one, I have a deep love for the gaming industry and am striving to make it my career. Gaming is still young but well on it's feet forcing its way onto bigger and better ventures. As the industry grows and expands, i plan to play and report on every virtual life created. Allowing video games to continue impacting my own.